Legislative Fact Sheet
AN ACT BANNING FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION, S XXXXX
SENATOR WILL BROWNSBERGER, LEAD SENATE SPONSOR
REPRSENTATIVE SARAH PEAK, LEAD HOUSE SPONSOR
PROTECT GIRLS IN MASSACHUSETTS FROM HARM FROM FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION (FGM)
FGM involves removing part or all of a girl’s healthy sex organs and surrounding tissue for non-medical reasons resulting in health consequences, death in childbirth and lifelong trauma.
The statistics available on FGM in the US are speculations mostly based on populations from FGM affected communities. In 2000, the African Women’s Health Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital estimated that 227,887 women and girls were at risk of FGM, 5,231 living in Massachusetts, including Boston, Lawrence and Worcester. In the past year, as victims have begun to speak out publicly, reports of transporting girls out of the country to be cut while vacationing have been widely disseminated in US news. A new prevalence study is underway at the Federal level at the request of victims and anti-FGM activists.
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140 million women and
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FGM is generally performed on young |
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30 million girls
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FGM is recognized internationally as a |
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Girls at risk reside in
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FGM is unlike male circumcision |
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22 States, in addition to |
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Ending this harmful practice requires
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FGM is performed to |
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* numbered facts provided by Equality now. More info visit www.equalitynow.org |
22 STATES HAVE PASSED A LAW
California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia
Illinois, Louisiana, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota,
Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North
Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island,
Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin
State | Only applies to minors (under 18 unless otherwise specified) |
Parent/ Guard- ian & circum- ciser subject to prosecution |
"Vacation Provision" banning travel outside the state for FGM |
Medically necessary exception |
Cultural/ ritual reasons, and/or consent not a defense |
Provisions for |
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California | x | x | x | x | |||
Colorado | Under 16 | x | x | x | x | ||
Delaware | x | x | x | x | |||
Florida | x | x | x | x | x | ||
Georgia | x | x | x | x | x | ||
Illinois | x | x | x | ||||
Kansas | x | x | x | x | x | ||
Louisiana | x | x | x | x | x | ||
Maryland | x | x | x | x | |||
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MASSACHUSETTS | x | x | x | x | x | x |
Minnesota | x | x | x | ||||
Missouri | Under 17 | x | x | x | |||
Nevada | x | x | x | x | x | ||
New Jersey | x | x | x | x | x | ||
New York | x | x | x | x | x | ||
North Dakota | x | x | x | ||||
Oklahoma | x | x | |||||
Oregon | x | x | x | x | x | ||
Rhode Island | |||||||
Tennessee | x | x | |||||
Texas | x | x | |||||
West Virginia | x | x | x | x | |||
Wisconsin | x | x | x | ||||
*Fact sheet provided by Equality Now. More info visit www.equalitynow.org |
ENDORSED BY
- Ethiopian Community Mutual Assistance Association (Cambridge)
- Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (Roxbury)
- Massachusetts Citizens for Children
- Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts
- Somali Development Center (Jamaica Plain)
- South End Community Health Center
- Women's Bar Association (Boston)
- Inter-African Committee USA
- Safe Hands for Girls
- The AHA Foundation
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